Sunday, October 09, 2005

Closing Things Down for Winter

The rain let up today and we were able to enjoy a parade and fireworks. In between, we cleaned out the garage, put away all the outdoor furniture and made a plan for insulating the attic over our bedroom. It turns out the insulating job is a much bigger deal than it originally looked to be because there was no moisture barrier put down initially. We don't have the time or manpower to accomplish insulating this weekend it will wait a week or two.

Our visit to the thrift store yesterday was a thrill. I found a seemingly unused ceramic countertop compost container and paid $3.00 for it. It sells on gaiam.com for $42. I'm tickled because the container I had been using, one of those fundraising tins, was falling apart.

On the food front, yesterday I did get the applesauce canned as planned and dinner went off without a hitch. Today we went with rice and beans, another meal that requires very little tending while cooking. Topped with salsa and served with collards it was yummy. We snacked on pumkin and squash seeds afterwards.

I'm going to give the apple butter that Barbara posted on her blog a try for tomorrow (check out http://frugal-pdx-living.blogspot.com/). I may try cooking it overnight and then making crepes to go with it for breakfast. The leftover beans, rice and collards along with some other veggies will be combined into a soup for tomorrow's dinner. I'm leaning towards cornbread to go with it, although my success rate with cornbread is less than stellar. (I only stink at making two things, cornbread and brownies, but I keep trying every now and then.)

On tonight's agenda, an old movie with the kids and hopefully finishing the covers for the fans.

1 comment:

Sunflower said...

Katie-- our Family Cornbread recipe is no-fail. I discovered this recipe when I was a new cook and was thrilled when I met my husband and found his family had been using the exact same recipe since he was a baby (it came from the side of a cornmeal package). Make it just like you would muffins.

Crosier Family Cornbread

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (I've also made this in a 375 oven while making casserole and it turned out fine). Mix together in a large bowl until well blended:

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour (white or whole wheat or a combination)
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt (optional, I prefer nonsalty cornbread)

In a separate, smaller bowl, beat together the following:

1 cup soymilk, plain or soured with a teaspoon on lemon juice or vinegar
1 egg replacer worth of egg, I've tried a ton but we traditionally use EnerG
1/4 c oil or oil/applesauce combination (if using applesauce, consider using less sugar)

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until all the dry ingredients are moist but the batter is still lumpy. You know, muffin batter quality.

If desired, add a cup of frozen corn and peppers/onions, or leave plain. If I make this for breakfast, I sometimes add frozen berries, but Russell thinks this is bizarre.

Bake until beautifully golden and the sides pull away lightly from the sides. I've never timed this. It's more than 20 minutes, though. :)


Ruthie